Suspected arrested in Champions Bar homicide

MINNEAPOLIS - The suspect in an August murder inside a Twin Cities bar is in custody after being arrested in Fargo, North Dakota.

Minneapolis Police say 42-year-old Ron Christopher Powell has been charged with second degree murder, second degree assault and being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm. Powell was arrested on October 11 and is being held pending extradition.

Police were called to Champions Bar just before 12:30 a.m. on August 8 after reports of a shooting. They arrived to find one man dead and another suffering from a non-life threatening gunshot wound.

Investigators soon learned that the wounded man, Anthony Orlando Collins, had a longstanding beef withPowell and hadbeen engaged in a number of altercations with him in the past.

On the night of the shooting Collins was celebrating his birthday at Champions when Powell entered the bar. Collins reportedly approached thedefendant and began punching him in the face.Powell was knocked to the ground, pulled out a gun and fired at least 3 shots. One struck 51-year-old Mark Stephenson, a man with no connection to either Collins or Powell.

Stephenson died from a wound to the femoral artery.

If found guilty on the murder charge, Ron Franklin could be sentenced to 40 years in prison or more.